MediShield Life Claims for Private Hospital

Ryler came into this world with a bang, literally. While we were waiting for him anxiously to be brought back to the maternity ward from the nursery, the Paediatric Doctor then broke the bad news that Ryler had to go straight into the NICU. His oxygen level somehow kept dropping, and had to rely on the oxygen box to keep it up above 90%. It was later confirmed to be a case of Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn (TTN). In other words, there were excess fluid remaining in his lungs after birth, causing breathing difficulties. While we were hopeful that the problem will resolve in 24-72hrs, he ended up staying in the 5* hotel for 8 nights! The total bill came up to $15,784.35.

MediShield Life is a compulsory medical safety net for Singaporean and PRs. It replaced MediShield in Nov 2015, to provide lifetime coverage, covering pre-existing conditions. However, it is meant to cover large medical bills incurred at a Public Hospital subsidized B2 wards and below. Therefore, a Pro-Ration factor of 35% applies for bills incurred in a Private Hospital i.e. you have to bear 65% of the bills. Hence, after taking into consideration the Deductible and Co-Insurance of the claims, MediShield Life eventually helped to cover $3,198.25. Luckily, with the additional prenatal plan, we also got a cash payout of $1,600 for the 8 day stay.

It’s great to have an automatic safety net in place like MediShield Life. However, do be aware about its limitations in terms of the choice of Wards, Deductible/Co-Insurance and the Annual Limit.

NB: Information presented is correct as of Dec 2016

If you like to understand more, do drop me a message below…